overtuned

Adjective

overtuned (comparative more overtuned, superlative most overtuned)

1. Tuned or adjusted so as to be excessive (in terms of some quality), especially
   • The process is overtuned. . . . Now it's gotten to the point where it takes sixteen months to get out any release of any Microsoft product. They really can't steer that ship very fast.2007, Scott Rosenberg, quoting Joel Spolsky, Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software, New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page...
   • "What are you talking about?" My voice was higher than usual, overtuned. I couldn't move. "What are you saying?"2016, W[illiam] B. Belcher, Lay Down Your Weary Tune, New York, N.Y.: Other Press, →ISBN, page 295
2. Of a string or string instrument: tuned so as to be excessively tight.
   • It was not until he was lying in the hospital bed at St Stephen's with his hand and arm fished like a broken spar that he realized his nerves were wound up tauter than an overtuned violin: another fraction of a turn, it seemed, and something would snap.1979, Dudley Pope, Convoy, New York, N.Y.: Walker and Company, published 1987, →ISBN, page 231
   • Patiently — as patiently as he could with nerves that felt like overtuned guitar-strings — Clay said, "There's nothing wrong with it, honey. I just want to get rolling. I don't think we're going to see anyone, anyway. I think it's too soon."2006, Stephen King, Cell: A Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 110
3. Of an engine: tuned so as to be more powerful than intended by the manufacturer.
   • There was the high-pitched rev of an overtuned engine, and Rosalie roared out of the shed and headed for the gully of the little stream by the dry-stone wall.1993, Ben Elton, This Other Eden, New York, N.Y. […]: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 160
   • Then he heard the familiar revving of the overtuned engine and went to the center window. The Flamer was pulling up curbside on the street below Doug was downstairs and outside in a flash.2004, Chuck Hogan, Prince of Thieves: A Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 264
4. Of a sense or mode of perception: trained so as to be excessively sensitive.
   • Had she just caught a reflection from somewhere else? A night bird? Or were her overtuned and hypervigilant senses playing games with her mind?2004, Barbara Seranella, Unwilling Accomplice: A Munch Mancini Crime Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Scribner, →ISBN, page 279
   • Freud, according to a poster I once owned, reckoned that the average redblooded male thinks about sex every three minutes, but in Afghanistan I hardly thought about it at all. This realisation had only dawned on me when I left the country. My first contact with non-Muslims had been in the Uzbek...2004, James Fergusson, Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds, London […]: Harper Perennial, →ISBN, page 67
5. Of a character, item, ability, etc.: excessively powerful; overpowered.
   • I think honestly some of the abilities we gave Dash may have been slightly overtuned.2019 July 17, Cass Marshall, quoting Matt Jackson, “Deathgarden: Bloodharvest is evolving again, with a new game mode and more”, in Polygon, archived from the original on 01 Jun 2023
   • The Hearthstone developers wanted to capture that fantasy within the context of a head-to-head CCG, and the results were outstandingly overtuned. In the hours after Ashes of Outland dropped, Demon Hunter was the only class in the game with a positive win rate.2020 June 4, “’Hearthstone’ updates used to take ages. Times have changed.”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Nov...
6. Of a raid or similar challenge: excessively difficult.
   • For a while, there was a concern that nobody could beat Riven, that Last Wish was simply too overtuned for day-one raiders. But then the first crew beat the boss around power level 550, and it became clear that Bungie had done something amazing.2018 September 19, Ryan Gilliam, “Only 12 players beat Destiny's new raid in the first 24 hours — and that's awesome”, in Polygon, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022
   • When Shadowlands launched back in November, the challenges of an initially overtuned Castle Nathria raid, seemingly endless Torghast runs, and the introduction of the Covenant system were enough to keep us all busy.2021 June 25, Sarah James, “World of Warcraft's upcoming power system risks trivialising the work put into legendary gear”, in PC Gamer, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2022
7. (broadly, figuratively) Excessive in some respect (without any implication of having been tuned).
   • There was a baby photo, those school portraits with the rainbow background, a big Afro playing basketball, a tuxedo-and-date prom, a couple of graduations, blah, blah, blah. Corny, yes, but these photo montages always touched Myron, exploiting his overtuned sensitivity like a sappy Hallmark...1998, Harlan Coben, One False Move (Myron Bolitar), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 55
   • We also accept what we are told in the same breath, that he was certifiably insane. Because according to the received wisdom of popular culture, this is the inevitable consequence of having a precociously overtuned mind.2006 February 12, Philip French, “You've got my numbers”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2021